Blogito ergo sum! Actually, as N.T. Wright averred, "'Amor, ergo sum:' I am loved, therefore I am." Among other things, I am a Roman Catholic deacon. This is a public cyberspace in which I seek to foster Christian discipleship in the late modern milieu in the diakonia of koinonia and in the recognition that "the Eucharist is the only place of resistance to annihilation of the human subject."

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Thursday, March 29, 2007

Sacrifice, Suffering, and God's Priestly People

We "see Jesus 'crowned with glory and honor' because he suffered death, he who 'for a little while' was made 'lower than the angels,' that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them 'brothers,' saying: 'I will proclaim your name to my brothers, in the midst of the assembly I will praise you"; and again: 'I will put my trust in him'; and again: 'Behold, I and the children God has given me'" (Heb 2,9-13).(underlining and italicizing emphasis mine)

Keeping in mind that he "who consecrates and those who are being consecrated (namely, us) all have one origin", we eagerly look forward to this evening's Chrism Mass here in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. At this annual celebration we make visible this beautiful reality- the reality of the one priesthood of Jesus Christ. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "The whole Church is a priestly people. Through Baptism all the faithful share in the priesthood of Christ. This participation is called the 'common priesthood of the faithful.' Based on this common priesthood and ordered to its service, there exists another participation in the mission of Christ: the ministry conferred by the sacrament of Holy Orders, where the task is to serve in the name and in the person of Christ the Head in the midst of the community." (CCC, 1591).

We pray:

Lord,come to us:free us from the stain of our sins.Help us to remain faithful to a holy way of life,and guide us to the inheritance you have promised.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever.

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About Me

I am husband and Dad to six lovely children. I am also a Roman Catholic deacon of the Diocese of Salt Lake City. I married in 1993, became a Dad for the first time in 1994 and most recently in 2011 (quite a spread). I was was ordained in 2004. I am assigned to The Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City. I am a graduate of the University of Utah and the Institute in Pastoral Ministry at St. Mary's University of Minnesota.

Madeleine Delbrêl

"We fashion the immortal being we are through our choices. Through our choices we bring the man in us to the fullness of life or to the worst of human suffering. At the hour of his death each human being has become either a person who will live with God forever, or who will be without God forever" Madeleine Delbrêl

St. Paul

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom. 12:1-2)